Luke 13:22-30
Narrow, but Open!
Have you ever locked yourself out of your house before? If you have, what did you do to get back in? I did, on a few different occasions. Once, we were entirely locked out. We had lived in a condo where the front door had a double lock, the deadbolt plus the lock on the handle. Well, you’re able to open the door from the inside even if the handle is still locked. And on this particular day, we had to go somewhere and both walked out the front door without our keys. The door shut behind us... and it was still locked. Now, I won’t make more out of this story than what happened. We had to call a locksmith to get back in and he arrived quickly, to which we were thankful. But in a more general sense, what are places that you might get “locked out” of? I’ve had to go running to a store at the end of the night because we needed certain medicine or something important right away. I always hold my breath when it’s close to their closing hours that the door isn’t locked already. Or maybe it’s on a day when you’re running late for school or work that the doors are locked at a certain hour for safety. I remember being worried about showing up late and not being able to get in. In many of these circumstances, the first thing we think to do is to start pounding on the door to try to get someone’s attention, to have someone open the door for us. But when a door is locked, it’s not meant to be opened... even to us.
Consider our Gospel lesson today as Jesus answers a question from the crowd. How many will be saved? To this, Jesus warns us about being locked out. For the door to eternity will eventually be locked and no matter how much you pound on it, it won’t be open again. For lest we be locked out of heaven, we ought to hear Jesus and learn this good news:
GOD HAS OPENED THE DOOR OF SALVATION TO YOU!
I.
It’s an interesting question from a human viewpoint. We’re generally curious creatures. We just want to know the answer... whether that be for our own benefit or for others, or for no reason at all. Or maybe this person’s question came from listening to Jesus and drawing his own conclusions. Either way, as Jesus is teaching, someone blurts out, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Luke 13:23. Is heaven going to be packed with millions upon millions? Or is it going to be like an elite club, the best of the best? But Jesus doesn’t truly entertain such a question. Rather, his answer points us somewhere else. As we heard, “And [Jesus] said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able,” Luke 13:24. Jesus isn’t interested in entertaining our curiosity. Rather, he has a goal in mind, a mission. It’s not about how many will enter heaven... rather, it’s about... will you enter heaven? These theoretical or hypothetical questions are unimportant to Jesus when the present reality needs to be addressed.
What Jesus wants you to do is imagine that you are the person to whom he’s speaking. For as we read, “When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’... [Then] he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” Luke 13:25, 27. Don’t be locked out. If you’re found on the outside when that door is locked, don’t think that an exception will be made for you. It will be a frightening place to be. What Jesus is doing here is attacking the false God of me, myself, and I. Thinking I’m the center of the universe, thinking I’m the most important person, thinking that I’m someone so special that even God would make an exception for me. But to this, Jesus says, “I don’t know you”. For so we should all be terrified of such a prospect, and rightfully so. For we know all too well the presence of sin and evil in our lives. We know that God would be justified to lock us all out and throw away the key. But to those terrified of such a circumstance, take heart... for such terror is a sign of faith.
II.
It’s no longer a question about how many will be saved, but about whether you will be among those who are. And notice the implicit meaning which Jesus tells us with these words. The master hasn’t closed the door... yet. For the door to heaven and salvation is currently open... because Jesus is the door, the way by which we enter eternal paradise! Thus, Jesus calls all to “strive” to enter through this narrow door. This is nothing less than repentance and faith. Faith in Jesus alone as our Lord and Savior. Even more so, the word for “strive” is the origin of our English word, “agonize”. Indeed, we should “agonize” over faith and salvation as the most important thing in our life. We strive by faith to lead holy lives, to subdue the evil within us, to restrain sin from our hands and mouths. And lest we grow self-conceited, as the author of Hebrews explains, God disciplines us in faith that we may yield the fruits of faith (Hebrews 12:7).
So, how many will be saved? Is it many or is it few? Indeed, many will seek to enter and not be able for they’ve relied on themselves. They’ve made an idol out of themselves or their own perceptions of God and heaven. But you see, that’s not the right question. Rather, it’s how shall we be saved? And that answer is clear. It’s by Jesus alone! It’s by his striving and agonizing. It’s by Jesus suffering for your sins, facing rejection by his own Heavenly Father, being locked out of paradise on your behalf, so that you never need to be! Yes, it’s Jesus’ death on the cross that opens wide to you the gates of heaven and paradise eternal! It’s the blood of Jesus that unveils to us the way to God. As Jesus says, “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God,” Luke 13:29. Yes, many will come from all across the world to recline at table in the kingdom of God. The gathering of saints shall be more than anyone can count!
Today, the door of salvation is open to you. For God has opened it through Jesus’ death and resurrection so that all may come to faith in him and receive eternal salvation. May we then strive evermore in faith as we look to our Lord who holds his arms outstretched to you, to welcome you into the eternal kingdom of God! In Jesus’ name! Amen!